


Bad Habits

by hiiimaugust



Series: Kitty the Cowardly Courier [8]
Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drug Addiction, F/M, Seriously why do i ship these two?, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-16 13:01:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9272900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiiimaugust/pseuds/hiiimaugust
Summary: For a smart girl, Kitty Hastings makes a lot of foolish choices.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm actually going somewhere with all these fics. I promise.

Kitty took up Med-X after the horror that was working for the Van Graffs and the Crimson Caravan Company. Boone wanted a break because her questions about his past were getting annoying. She needed caps. Naive as usual, she saw the Van Graffs as decent people. She'd been wrong.

She hadn't liked Cass. The older woman smelled of alcohol and misery and talked too much. She always had something to say. By the time they got to the outskirts of New Vegas, Kitty considered just telling her to go. She reminded herself that this wasn't so different from delivering mail, just more mouthy.

No matter her personal feelings, no one deserved to be turned to ash. Kitty just watched, struck dumb by the affect of the single shot. Even if she could have taken on her new boss and coworkers, it didn't even cross her mind to fight back. She watched, numb.

She ended up in the El Rey Hotel. She pulled the dead Wastelander out of the room and quietly prepared herself.

Med-X and Kitty were not strangers, but her headaches weren't common enough to use it often. Doc Mitchell warned her to be careful with how much she took. Half a dose normally knocked her for a loop. A full dose could potentially put her to sleep.

She spent over two months relying on the stuff. She did a few odd jobs here and there, but mostly stayed in the room at the El Rey. The money she'd been saving to get into the Strip could keep her alive for awhile.

How Boone found her was a mystery. It probably had something to do with how close El Rey was to Camp McCarran. Someone who knew both of them probably sent a note to Novac. One day, the door to her room opened. He unceremoniously picked her up. She didn't have the energy to fight back. He carried her all the way to Freeside.

Julie ended up being busy, so she ended up in under the care a tall blonde doctor. "I'm a researcher."

"Can you help her or not?"

The doctor sighed and shone a light in her eyes. "Constricted pupils, involuntary spasms, emotionless. I'm guessing Med-X. Do you know that those scars on her forehead are from?"

"Bullets."

"She's the Courier from Goodsprings. Interesting. What's her name?"

"Hastings."

"You're not much of a talker, are you?" The doctor sighed. "Fine. I'll see what I can do."

Boone saved her life that day. Kitty tried to thank him but he said it was his job. "I'm not paying you. I've never paid you."

"Duty then."

"Boone, I'm a grown woman. I can handle myself."

He ignored her. "I took a job guarding the Atomic Wrangler. Came with a room we can both use. Said you were my sister's kid."

"Boone, I'm _not_ that much younger than you."

They sat in silence. She chewed on a fixer tablet. Normally, it didn't bug her. Boone didn't like to talk; too much noise bothered her head. This time it felt wrong.

"You look like Carla," he said. "You could pass for her baby sister or cousin." He stood. "I have to go in for my shift. Listen to the doctors."

Honestly, she had to thank stubborn, stupid, pigheaded Boone. That stint in the Old Mormon Fort led to her friendship with Arcade Gannon. They were a lot alike. He acted as her mentor, even taught her Latin. He was likewise a protective pain-in-her-ass.

But now? Boone was dead and Freeside felt a world away. Kitty stood in the bathroom in her room at Novac. She'd cleaned Boone's blood off her as best she could and just stood there. They hadn't done anything with the Med-X before they left and she was seriously considering taking one or both.

A familiar hand settled on waist . It started gently messaging her side. "I'm not going to stop you, honey baby," Benny whispered. He kissed her shoulder. "But you should come to bed instead."

There was probably something even more wrong about sleeping with your attempted murderer a second time, especially less than twenty four hours after your best friend's death, but Kitty didn't care. She let Benny "lull" her to sleep.


End file.
